An Etymological Dictionary of the German Language/Annotated/Bank

by Friedrich Kluge

Bank, feminine, ‘bank, bench, reef,’ from the equivalent Middle High German banc, plural bęnke, Old High German banch, plural bęnchi, masculine, feminine; compare Anglo-Saxon bęnc, feminine, English bench, Old Icelandic bekkr. Besides the stem banki- (from pre-Teutonic bhangi-), Teutonic possessed others which are recorded in words borrowed by Romance; compare Italian banco, banca, panca, French banc, banque, &c. See the following words.